Frank Speziale Photo

Cashman’s three pointer with 3 seconds left earns win

NORWICH – Norwich’s Marcus Cashman delivered a 3-point dagger with 3.7 seconds remaining in the wild contest between the Purple Tornado and the Unadilla Valley Storm Tuesday night. Cashman’s bucket from the left corner put Norwich up 43-40 and UV’s head coach Matt Osborne called a timeout to draw up a potential game-tying play.

The Storm were without Andrew Jackson, who fouled out with 1:23 left in the fourth. Osborne went to Caleb Parker for the final shot. Parker got a look at the rim from beyond the arc but the shot didn’t go, giving the Tornado with win on their home floor.

“We had two great days of practice before this game and I felt the defensive plan that we implemented was very sound,” said Norwich head coach Tom Collier. “Our kids did a great job of executing the plan as we practiced.”

The first five minutes of the game was a battle on the glass as both teams missed several attempts and were full of sloppy play with turnover after turnover.

Norwich’s Thomas Flanagan changed that as he knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to put the first points up on the scoreboard for either team.

The rest of the Tornado then piggybacked off of the momentum as Mujuni Mutabiilwa came away with a steal on the defensive end of the floor and finished at the other end.